Opening the First Casino in Chicago Won't be Easy
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Illinois officials have been trying to get a major casino-resort open in Chicago for years. Now it appears there are few companies interested in opening the first casino in the city.
Last year, all US casinos were shut down due to health issues. Now, some officials are afraid that they will be ordered to implement new restrictions. This would be a blow for the major casinos in Las Vegas. Illinois officials want to open a major casino-resort in Chicago.
Illinois is known for its lenient laws toward gambling. The state's sports betting industry is the second-largest in the country after New Jersey. Lawmakers approved a Capital Plan that allows for several new casinos to open around the state. This plan also allows a Class III casino to be opened in Chicago. However, getting this property up and running has been much more difficult than some initially expected. Illinois set an unusually high tax rate on this Chicago casino. Four companies expressed interest in opening this casino, but two of them have formally dropped out and another seems to have more hesitancy.
Rivers is the only casino in Illinois that has survived the state's casino decline.
Illinois is one of the biggest and most profitable sports gambling hubs. Some are disappointed that none of Illinois' sports stadiums have launched sportsbooks. Chicago has a ban on sportsbooking inside casinos since 2020. Alderman Walter Burnett proposed a new ordinance that would allow for sports stadium to purchase sports betting licenses. If approved, this ordinance would also allow sportsbetting to become available in the first casino in Chicago.
